The Two Oak Trees

The Two Oak Trees

The two oak trees towered above the other trees as they stood guard over the hillside above the stream for hundreds of years. Their shade provided a patch of coolness the hot summer days, and their acorns provided abundant food for the squirrels during the long cold winters. One day in early summer I noticed a small crack in one of the trees. Over the following weeks the crack became deeper and wider. An ice storm the previous winter had deposited an inch thick layer of ice on the branches. The wind storm that spring had added to the stress on the tree and it began to crack. As time went on I found I could fit my hand into the crack, then my fist, and eventually a splinter about a foot wide and six feet long separated from the tree. Over the following weeks that summer I could measure the widening gap as the tree leaned farther and farther out over the hill. The ominous creaks and cracks and pops and groans emanating from the tree became more frequent until one night the tree was giving out almost constant noise, and I could see the crack getting larger by the hour. That night, about three in the morning, the tree fell with a mighty crash. The following day I examined the tree and discovered that although it looked solid on the outside, the heart of the tree had rotted about halfway through its massive four-foot girth. The tree could have stood for another two hundred years if it had not been for that ice storm followed by the wind storm. Those two events, added to the tree's own massive weight contributed to its downfall. The tree was rotten at its heart, where it needed to be strongest to withstand the stresses it had to endure.

Powerful nations and civilizations have fallen for the same reason--they had become rotten at the heart. For example, the invincible, powerful Roman Empire fell to the external attacks of the barbarians, because it was rotten on the inside. The strong character of the Roman citizens had given way to hedonism. Discipline gave way to intemperance in all areas of life. Integrity gave way to all kinds of corruption and graft. Strong moral standards had given way to immorality of every kind. When the barbarians attacked from the outside, Rome was no longer able to withstand the stresses and strains and so that powerful nation fell.

Scotland has had some severe shocks in the last few years, including the foot and mouth epidemic, the BSE crisis, repercussions from the world trade center attack, ongoing crises in the fishing industry, to name just a few. Does Scotland have the inner strength to withstand such shocks over time? The heart of that oak was made up of individual cells that had gone rotten. The moral heart of Scotland is made up of individual people-you and me. Are we, with our actions, attitudes, and character, contributing to the strength or the weakness of this country? Are we going to help it withstand catastrophes? The choice belongs to each one of us in the daily choices we make. If we choose to do right, we strengthen the country; if we choose to do wrong, we weaken the country.

Of the two oak trees, the weak one fell, while the sound one withstood the effects of the storms.